As social media platforms incorporate new paid advertising options, it is increasingly difficult for agencies and marketers to navigate the available ad products in the paid social world. The IAB Social Media Buyers Guide Working Group, led by Raman Kia, formerly of Conde Nast, along with Kate Hoover of Conde Nast, worked closely with the top seven social platforms to highlight the most important information about available ad products which includes, but is not limited to:

Objectives

Ad Placements

Ad Types

Targeting Options

Data & Insights

Measurement

Creative Specs

How to Buy via Insertion Order

This guide provides the industry with a one-stop resource on how to advertise on the seven leading social platforms. And while nothing will replace the partnership a company has with a social platform, what is included in the guide are the key elements that are the most important as stated by each social platform. It is intended that this guide will be updated frequently to reflect the evolving paid social landscape.

Note: This guide is accurate as of early December, 2014. We will diligently track new ad products as they are launched, or discontinued as the case may be. If any other social media platform would like to be included in this guide, please contact the IAB Social Media lead, Susan Borst — [email protected].

The IAB Social Media Committee, which is comprised of nearly 300 individual IAB members, is co-chaired by Carine Roman, Head of Global Advertising Operations at LinkedIn and Christine Cuoco, Sales Strategy: Brand & Agency at Twitter. The Committee is dedicated to helping marketers/agencies navigate the evolving Social Media landscape, while supporting its growth as an increasingly important, measurable, and viable component of a brand’s paid, owned, and earned media strategy.